


The Man Who Has Everything

by theskywasblue



Category: Saiyuki Gaiden
Genre: Birthday, Fun, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-02
Updated: 2010-08-02
Packaged: 2017-10-10 22:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theskywasblue/pseuds/theskywasblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenren discovers that Tenpou is not an easy man to buy for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Man Who Has Everything

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dr_zook](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=dr_zook).



"Might I suggest this? It's genuine dragon scale."

Kenren studied the jacket the merchant offered up with an eye of disdain. "C'mon man, ya gotta do better than that – I've seen _real_ dragon scale, and it doesn't look anything like that shit. I bet that's snake, be honest."

The merchant looked stung, but Kenren could have cared less. The guy was a liar, and a damn thief on top of it – his prices were off the charts.

"Know what, never mind, I don't think a jacket's what I want anyway."

What was he thinking? Tenpou didn't need a goddamn jacket; all he ever wore around was that dingy lab coat of his – Kenren had a hell of a time convincing him to take it off and wash it once a month so that he didn't smell like he'd been rolling around in the Jade Emperor's stables in his free time (even if, okay, they had done it once, more or less) – or his military uniform if he was on the field or at an official function. He had those horrifically formal robes of his tucked away somewhere, the ones that made him look ten kinds of royal and so obscenely pretty that Kenren almost couldn't think about it without having to rearrange himself inside his pants; but those only ever came out when the dinner invitation said "formal wear only," and even then only with a lot of bitching and moaning about how hard it was to get in and out of the things.

Kenren had to agree with that last part.

Okay, so a jacket wasn't the way to go, definitely. Kenren's first thought had been a book – that was almost a no-brainer – but the damn problem was, Tenpou had so many books that Kenren didn't have a hot clue what he could get that the guy wouldn't already have tucked away somewhere on his shelves.

Then there was the fact that if Kenren bought him another book, it would just be another bundle of papers he would have to pull out of endless piles, dust off and re-shelf on a semi-regular basis. He already had hundreds he had to do that with. Not to mention it would be another book atop the massive pile that he was sure would eventually bury and kill Tenpou one day when he wasn't around, making Tenpou would be the first Field Marshal to actually die _off_ the field.

So, no book. But what the hell else was he supposed to get? The trouble with Tenpou was that he didn't want for much. If he got an idea in his head that he wanted or needed something, he would just go out and get it. Besides that, he wasn't the sort of guy to actually _ask_ for anything. That was fine enough in its own way, but it sure as hell made shopping for the guy's birthday present a pretty insurmountable task.

If Tenpou knew that Kenren was out putzing around the market looking for a birthday gift, he would have laid the smack-down on him pretty damn fast. Tenpou hated his birthday with a passion he usually only demonstrated when perusing shelves of rare books in the Heavenly library. Kenren didn't know the reason, but it wasn't any of his business. He was stubborn enough that it didn't mean he was just going to let the day pass by unmarked. After all, Tenpou had made him celebrate _his_ birthday – with sake and good food and a trip to the theatre, which wasn't really Kenren's thing, but it had turned out pretty damn good anyway – and it was only fair for Kenren to return the favour.

Tenpou had bought him a book, of course, one about fine wine tasting, which was a little beyond Kenren, but it was nice thought. He just liked to _drink_ the wine, he wasn't really interested in analyzing it at all.

The old saying always went _"it's the thought that counts"_, but Kenren couldn't even actually think of a gift for Tenpou. Every stand that he passed in the market looked more mundane than the last, and Tenpou would never be able to stand for anything mundane. He was too _different_ \- getting him some hum-drum gift would be like buying dog food for dinner; not only pointless, but a little bit disgusting.

Feeling defeated, Kenren leaned against the side of a building to light up a smoke – hoping the nicotine rush would take the edge off his frustration – and all at once, inspiration hit him like a lightning strike to the back of the head.

***

"How...very creative."

"Impressive, huh?" Kenren could feel himself grinning. He hoped he didn't look too much like an idiot.

"It's quite unlike anything I've ever seen."

"Well, I thought since I broke the last one..."

"Really," Tenpou laughed, "I think we can share equal blame."

"Whatever man, I wanted to replace it, anyway."

"And I do appreciate it," Tenpou smiled, "truly. It's a wonderful gift."

Kenren tried not to puff out his chest, "so, do you wanna break it in?"

"Only if you're going to help me." Tenpou held out his pack of cigarettes, a single stick poking out of the wrapper as an offering.

"It's your birthday man," Kenren answered, accepting the cigarette.

"Oh," Tenpou took his own cigarette and lit it, holding the flame out to Kenren, who leaned forward and sucked in slowly, stoking the cherry until it glowed red-hot. "I insist."

Kenren breathed in deep, until there was a long snake of ash at the end of the cigarette. "Alright then."

He drew the cigarette out of mouth slowly, stretched out his hand, and flicked the ash off the end of the cigarette into the gaping mouth of the frog that made up the new ash tray. The damn thing was ridiculous – but hell, if nothing else, it was pure Tenpou. When he'd seen it, Kenren knew he had to get it.

"Seems like it works, man."

"How wonderful," Tenpou grinned brightly, ashing his own cigarette into it. "Now, would you like to test out my other gift?"

-End-


End file.
